Wilson Center Experts

Paulo Sotero

Paulo Sotero is the director of the Brazil Institute of the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. An award winning journalist, from 1989 to 2006 he was the Washington correspondent for Estado de S.Paulo, a leading Brazilian daily newspaper. Sotero began his career at Veja in the late 1960s and worked for the magazine in São Paulo, Recife, Brasília, and Paris, until he was named its correspondent in Portugal after the democratic revolution of April 25, 1974. Sotero has been in Washington, D.C., since 1980, where he has been a correspondent for Istoé weekly magazine and the financial newspaper Gazeta Mecantil. He is a frequent guest commentator for the BBC, CNN, AlJazeera, Voice of America, National Public Radio, Globo News Television and the Brazilian Radio Network - CBN. He also contributes regularly to Brazilian and international newspapers, magazines, and scholarly journals. A native of the state of São Paulo, Sotero holds a Bachelor’s degree in History from the Catholic University of Pernambuco, and a Master’s in Journalism and Public Affairs from the American University, in Washington, D.C. He has been an adjunct lecturer at the Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service, Georgetown University, and is currently on the adjunct faculty of the Elliott School of International Affairs, George Washington University.

Education

M.A., Journalism and Public Affairs, American University, Washington, D.C.

Subjects

Brazil,Latin America,Media,U.S.-Brazil Relations

Experience

Washington correspondent for O Estado de S. Paulo; commentator and analyst for national and international news outlets; adjunct lecturer of Brazilian politics and the media at Georgetown University; writer and lecturer on Brazilian and Latin American affairs and Brazil-U.S. relations

Expertise

Latin America, with particular emphasis on Brazil, contemporary politics, and the media

Related Content for this Expert

President Dilma Rousseff’s approval and popularity ratings continue to remain low even after her recent meeting with President Obama. If the trip to the U.S. did provide a bump for the President, it was short-lived and has wilted in the face of political and economic realities in Brazil. Brazil Institute Director Paulo Sotero explains the situation President Rousseff faces provides insights on what it might take to turn things around. That’s the focus of this edition of Wilson Center NOW. more

Given the current recession and political climate in Brazil, President Rousseff's upcoming visit to the United States could lay the groundwork for restored prosperity in both its economy and relationship with the United States. In this episode of TRENDING, Brazil Institute Director Paulo Sotero provides an overview of Rousseff's objectives and discusses the potential effects of the meeting on both countries as well as the global community. more

Throughout much of Latin America, the "golden years" of economic growth during the last decade's commodity boom have given way to economic decline or stagnation. At the same time, a mobilized citizenry is demanding better government performance. These two factors have focused unprecedented attention on rule of law deficits and official corruption. Meanwhile, relations among countries of the hemisphere have grown more complex. As much as the region has welcomed the normalization of U.S.-Cuban relations, the options for international insertion now extend far beyond the Western Hemisphere. more

Paulo Sotero, Director of the Brazil Institute, discusses the impact of the current economic and political crisis on Brazil's foreign policy vis-à-vis the U.S. in an article for the Huffington Post. more

After one round of voting in Brazil, the unpredictability factor in the race for the presidency remains intact. Brazil Institute Director Paulo Sotero, discusses the latest as incumbent Dilma Rousseff and challenger Aecio Neves head toward a runoff vote on October 26th. A key for each campaign will be winning over supporters of Marina Silva, following her third place finish in round one of the voting. Sotero describes the factors and issues in play.

President Dilma Rousseff failed to secure an absolute majority of votes in the first ballot of Brazil’s elections and will face senator Aécio Neves, a popular former governor of the state of Minas Gerais, in a final round scheduled for Sunday October 26.

Director Paulo Sotero authored this article in Portuguese for the Brazilian daily "O Estado de S. Paulo" on the on the implications of Brazil's success as host of the 2014 World Cup and the disappointing performance of its national soccer team at the tournament. The article highlights the challenges the nation should focus on as it prepares to host the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro.

Hopes for Brazil’s burgeoning economy were high when the World Cup was awarded to the country in 2007. But now many Brazilians accuse the World Cup celebrations of draining $15 billion of Brazil’s resources into the international economy. Sports writer Dave Zirin and Paulo Sotero talk to Jeffrey Brown of PBS Newshour.

When the World Cup ends a month from now — I hope with a sixth star shining on the golden jerseys of the home team — the problems that plagued Brazil's hosting effort will remain, writes Paulo Sotero in The Los Angeles Times.

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Created in June 2006 as part of the Wilson Center’s Latin American Program, the Brazil Institute strives to foster informed dialogue on key issues important to Brazilians and to the Brazilian-U.S. relationship. We work to promote detailed analysis of Brazil’s public policy and advance Washington’s understanding of contemporary Brazilian developments, mindful of the long history that binds the two most populous democracies in the Americas.

The growing presence of Brazilian global companies in the United States complements traditionally strong investments by U.S. companies in Brazil. This trend has created a two-way street where common interests are more visible and both governments are pressured to recognize the benefits of working together or risk paying a political price for not doing so.

This report, based on a conference organized by the Latin American Program and the Brazil Institute, summarizes the multiple and complex perceptions held by Brazilians as well as a host of other countries in the region regarding Brazil's "emergence" as a regional and global power.

In the First Brazilian Congressional Study Mission on Innovation, a group of Brazilian congressman and senators visited the Wilson Center, State Department, and MIT to discuss innovation policies in the United States.

This report, based on a conference organized by the Latin American Program and the Brazil Institute, summarizes the multiple and complex perceptions held by Brazilians as well as a host of other countries in the region regarding Brazil's "emergence" as a regional and global power.

David Fleischer Emeritus Professor and former chair of the Department
of Political Science and International Relations at the University of Brasilia, and Paulo Sotero Director of the Brazil Institute of the Woodrow Wilson Center and former Washington Correspondent for the Newspaper O Estado De Sao Paulo.